The Experiment
by fraantastic
Summary: At a young age Rose was told that the most powerful magic out there was love. Curiousity gets the best of Rose as she sets on an adventure that she will never forget. Will hearts be broken? Will she finally understand what love is? You'll have to read to find out. Set on Rose and Scorpius' 6th year.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Every time I think about love one word pops into mind. _Magic. _ Aside from normal, familial love I had never experienced anything else. It was the summer after 4th year that I began to question its qualities.

"Mum, is love magic?" I asked one day as we were watching Auntie Luna dance with her brand new husband Rolf Scamander at their reception.

"Of course it is. It is the most powerful magic out there."

Her answer didn't sound mechanical. Usually when I ask her one of my many questions she recites the answer word for word from the textbook. It was a little habit I picked up from her. This time there was a light in her eyes as she said them. Not unlike the light that I see when she tells me about her job, helping give the house elves fair wages and vacations. She truly had a passion for this. This only made me want to know more.

"So how come they can't create _any _potion that doesn't just simulate love but actually produces it?"

She looked at me for a moment. Amused.

"Wow, I may have let you read books too advanced for your age." she laughed, took a swig of Firewhiskey and carried on "Love is a different kind of magic. It's the kind that grows organically. It can't be just artificial."

"But hasn't anyone looked into it? I mean, if it's that powerful surely someone would've tried to observe it at work or _something._" I looked at her incredulously.

"It isn't a toy. Love is different. It's a special kind of magic."

I didn't hear anything but the words 'special kind of magic.'

It was all so confusing and mysterious that I just had to investigate.

It was that day that I began to plan what I would like to call 'The Boyfriend Experiment.'

The idea for the experiment formed a few days after the wedding. On the eve of my 6th year at Hogwarts. I was following everybody around. Teddy and Victoire, James and Melanie even my mum and dad. But they wouldn't let me observe them up close. It was around that time that I figured I had to feel it myself for me to actually find out.

* * *

It was the 1st of September, we arrived at King's Cross. Me and Albus were already in our uniforms. I arrived with a mission. Last year we only patrolled the train one at a time and we had just ended up hanging out at the Prefects compartment. The train ride was always the most stress free moment I spend while studying in Hogwarts.

"Don't do anything irresponsible, okay?" mum said to Hugo, it contrasted a lot with Auntie Ginny's "Now, don't do anything too stupid James." They kissed each of us goodbye.

"Keep safe, and stop following couples around please." mum said.

"Yes mum. I promise." I said, hugging her.

"Don't kiss too many boys, okay? I know how 6th year can get." she whispered when dad was out of earshot.

"Yes mum"

"Always know that we are very proud of both of you." dad said.

"Of course dad, you say that everyday." Hugo said.

We said our goodbyes and boarded the Hogwarts Express.

"Hello everyone. Pleasant morning. Congratulations Julie, Roger!" I said.

"Hey guys, how was your summers?" Albus said.

We began talking. I got along very well with everybody. Mandy Brocklewurst had just finished telling me about her summer interning at the Daily Prophet and when fellow 6th year Prefect Scorpius Malfoy walked in. Mum told me to be nice to him, we were nothing if not civil. Mostly our conversations were forced and consisted mostly of small talk and a lame excuse to walk away.

"Scorpius." I nodded to him.

"Rose." he did the same.

"How was your summer?"

"Fine, you?"

"Great. We went to a tour of the Ministry."

"That is great."

The train started moving.

"Okay, everyone, train's moving who'll take first watch?" Julie Moon, the brand new Head Girl from Ravenclaw, said.

"I'll do it." I volunteered.

"Okay, just make a couple of quick rounds. Wouldn't want to tire you guys out." Roger MacDougal Hufflepuff Head Boy joked.

I saw 5th year Slytherin Isobel Entwhistle roll her eyes.

Through the years house unity was very much promoted but some Slytherins, mostly some of the children of previous Death Eaters, remain stubborn. Most Slytherins have learned to be more friendly towards the other houses, though. You can even see the occasional Hufflepuff-Slytherin couple sometimes.

I patrolled around the corridors with a mission in mind. If I was to do an experiment it should be with someone who I would never fall for. So my choices were pretty limited. Benjamin Carrow? No, not horrible looking, but he's just a horrible person. Henry McLaggen? No, he's alright but I don't think I can bear it if he invited me over to his place during Christmas break and his family just talk about themselves. Larry Peakes? No, arrogant little git.

I called the search off for a day and decided to look at things from a different angle. I wasn't quite sure what that angle would be until I reached it. I was back at the Prefects compartment when I saw Scorpius. The most favorable option. He was quite handsome, really, and it's improbable that I would fall in love with him. My only problem is I would have to keep it a secret from everyone. If dad ever found out...I didn't even want to think of what he'd say.

**A/N: A little something I've been working on for a while. I would really like to know what you think about it. Haven't messed with canon. I don't know if I'm any good at this. Comments even rude comments (as long as they're honest) will be much appreciated. If you took the time to actually read the whole thing. Thank you! The first chapter will be posted in 3 days.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Did alright then?" Roger asked.

"Yeah, not too bad. Confiscated a box of tarantulas. I don't understand how they managed to sneak them in." I handed them the box, opening it slowly. A couple of girls started screaming.

"Relax, I was kidding. It's just a big Skiving Snackbox. Some kids were planning on feeding them to toads." I laughed.

"Good one." Albus laughed giving me a high five.

"What should we do with these?" Mandy asked.

"Let's keep them." Roger paused when he saw Julie's reaction "I was kidding. Relax."

"Well, we can't return it. That would be condoning animal cruelty." Julie said.

"Oh, who cares about the stupid animals?" Isobel retorted.

"Isobel, I know you're new here but we do _not_, under any circumstances, tolerate animal abuse." Roger said. All signs of joking gone. Isobel immediately stopped talking. This was what I liked about Roger. He redefined the generalization that Hufflepuffs aren't leaders. He scares even the most condescending Slytherins with just a few words.

"We'll just have to return it but alert the Heads of Houses, I guess." Albus said.

"Agreed." Julie said.

And we skimmed over that topic waiting for the awkward pauses that always follows Roger's bursts of anger end.

"Is the essay in A History of Magic about the goblin wars or the giant wars?" I asked Scorpius.

"I...er...Goblin wars." he said, taken aback.

"Oh, good. I got nervous there for a second. I thought Binns assigned Giant wars."

"Have you read the updated version of Hogwarts, A History?"

"I haven't. My mum has it but she's still reading it, wasn't it only released last week?"

"It was. Everyone mentioned in it got a copy and my Gran gave me hers. Do you want to borrow it?"

"I would love to." I said.

We spent the rest of the trip to Hogwarts talking, trading Chocolate Frog cards, Albus kept looking at me suspiciously.

"Alright, it's showtime guys." Mandy said.

We guided the students to the horseless carriages.

"I wonder what Thestrals look like." I said.

"Trust me. You don't want to know." Scorpius said.

"You've seen someone die?"

"Yes."

I paused for an awkward second, distracting myself by helping a rather short first year get on the carriage. This is the first time I felt compassion for him.

"I'm sorry."

"You're not going to ask me who?"

"I don't think you would want to relive it."

"Oh, it's alright you know. If you wanted to ask."

I wasn't really planning to ask him, but since he insisted and curiosity got the best of me I eventually did.

"So who was it?"

"That's kind of the thing. I don't know. It was just some guy. I was walking in Diagon Alley with with my Grandfather and he just came up to him screaming the Dark Lord killed his family and it was all Grandfather's fault. Then he just starts throwing curses at him and he was deflecting them and he suddenly just cast a Killing Curse and before I even knew it, some former Death Eater jumped in the duel and he just killed him. Just like that." his eyes glazed over, clearly reliving it.

"I'm sorry." were the only words I could say.

"Don't be. It's not your fault."

We spent the rest of the carriage ride in silence. Both of us staring into the space occupied by the Thestrals.

"So, what was that about?" Albus muttered as we took our respective seats in the Gryffindor table.

"I was making friends, Albus." I said.

"I know you Rose and I'm pretty sure you don't just decide to talk to people out of the blue."

I quickly improvised and used the same excuse I used on Scorpius.

"Fine, Albus. I'm promoting House Unity. If I'm ever going to be Head Girl I need a Slytherin on my side. What with Isobel constantly giving every other Prefect from a different House, dirty looks. Besides, it can't hurt for McGonagall to see me keeping the peace between Gryffindor and Slytherin."

"Ah, and the truth comes out. I don't get why you're trying so hard, though. You are a shoo-in for Head Girl."

"It doesn't hurt, Albus. If I'm ever going to work for the Daily Prophet and debunk the lies that Skeeter has told about everyone I'm going to have to have good credentials." I said.

"Ah, of course. Your ultimate goal. You never stop talking about that, you know?"

"How could I not? It's a very important issue with me. I just can't let people think the wrong things."

"Here we go again." Albus rolled his eyes.

I immediately took off with the first years as soon as the start of term feast ended, sighing in relief.

After that Mandy called me in for the reports to McGonagall. She asked me to tell the story about what happened with the Skiving Snackbox. I left out certain details, informing McGonagall I wished for the students to remain anonymous. She agreed and told me to return the Snackbox and wrote down a notice to give to every Prefect to post in their respective Common Rooms.

I walked down to the dungeons and asked the first Slytherin I saw to call Scorpius for me.

"Hey, Rose. Benjamin said you wanted to talk to me?"

"This is Keith's and this is for the rest of the House. Please don't spread the news around that he tried to do that to the toads. I do feel for him. He was quite scared. And, _this_, is for you to post in your Common Room. And...that's it, yeah." I nodded, about to leave.

"Hold on for one second."

He ran into the common room, out of sight and came back a couple of minutes later holding a shiny new copy of Hogwarts, A History.

"Wow, thanks Scorpius." I opened the book and looked at the crisp pages.

"No problem."

I walked away hurriedly, excited to read the book.

That was a really nice gesture, I never really expected Scorpius Malfoy to be so nice. Previously I viewed him as rather boring and uninteresting but when he told me the story about how he came to be able to see Thestrals it's just...I didn't expect that from him. I was very surprised to end up feeling like I wanted to know more about him.

**A/N: And that is the first Chapter. Is there anything you expect to happen? Anything you want to happen? Anything you didn't like? Plot inconsistencies (I do my best to follow canon)? You could review and tell me. Updates will come every Friday, or Thursday depending on where you live. Thank you for reading.**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The first week was quite nice. My friendship with Scorpius progressed and he was actually a pretty fun guy to be around. We sat together in Potions now which, at first, got a few looks even from the Gryffindors, but they got used to it. Albus kept giving us weird looks though. We were together during night watches too. Night watches were reinstated because a couple of Years ago when I was in 4th Year a trend had started in which students snuck out to meet with Peeves and do really elaborate pranks on everyone. This trend was actually started by my very own cousin James. The 6th Year Prefects were mostly responsible for these watches because, despite the massive amount of homework assigned, between the 5th Year's OWLs and the 7th Year's NEWTs we had the least work load out of all the Prefects.

On the first night we walked silently side by side, on the second we made polite small talk, on the fourth night we ran out of things to say so we started to talk about our actual life. Family, friends, home life. I got to know all his habits. He would run his fingers through his hair ever so often, he would laugh right before saying a joke, he would close his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose every time he was trying to remember something. When he told me anything about his family he would subconsciously wince. They lived a safe existence. Thrived on isolation. They lived for each other. And, despite them repaying their debt to the wizarding world a hundred fold, the hatred continued. The worst part was, Scorpius says they think they deserved it. Although he was very open about talking about these things he seemed rather sad, so I usually steered clear and changed the topic to school things. We grew very comfortable with each other.

Two months into school during a particularly rigorous Potions lesson which included continual speedy stirring Scorpius asked me something I had been hoping that he would ask me for a long time.

"Do you have plans for the Hogsmeade trip on Saturday?"

I wiped my brow, stalling. He made it very hard to concentrate.

"No, not really. I was thinking I could just pop into the shops for a bit to buy something for school."

I made a little calming/concentration mantra in my head.

Clockwise, clockwise, counter-clockwise, clockwise, clockwise, counter-clockwise...

"Ah, I see. Sugar Quills." he laughed nervously.

"How did you know?" I resisted the urge to look at him, counting down the last few stirs.

Clockwise, clockwise, counter-clockwise, clockwise, clockwise, counter-clockwise...

"You borrow books from the library everyday, Rose. Not even just a book. Books. We all need the extra burst of energy Sugar Quills gives and we don't even engage in that much reading."

"You noticed?" I mumbled.

"I was wondering, do you want to go to the Three Broomsticks with me? I mean I was thinking Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop at first but I did notice how you weren't quite fond of the couples snogging in the corridors and we really can't control the teenagers there..."

Clockwise, clockwise, counter-clockwise, clockwise, clockwise, clockwise...

"...also, you're not that fond of the frilly stuff I've seen you cringe at them and...OH!"

We both jumped back as the potion frothed over spilling from the cauldron. It was an Erumpent Potion. Very delicate. It scattered all over the floor , burnt the table and sprayed a teensy bit on me and Scorpius which resulted in having very painful 2nd degree burns. Madam Patil levitated us herself to the Hospital Wing on the other side of the castle I bit down on my lip trying not to scream, tears streaking down my face. I tried in vain to distract myself by trying to figure out where the burn spots were. The pain fell mostly on my right leg, mostly on my knee. That knowledge made me notice the pain more and by the time we reached the Hospital Wing, my bottom lip had started to bleed. Once I was laid down on the bed, Madam Patil soaked my leg in something a bit cold and slimy. The pain had subsided as soon as it touched my skin. I looked over at Scorpius, I saw red patches on his foot. His shoes laid on the ground holey and smoking.

"Sorry." I said.

"It's okay." he said.

His eyes remained closed, savoring the relief from the pain. I took a closer look at the clear substance.

"Murtlap Essence and Dittany. Now go to sleep." Madam Patil said.

I complied feeling the adrenaline drain from my system.

* * *

I woke up to the marvelous smell of bacon and eggs. My leg was dry and smooth, but it tingled a bit. I felt completely normal. I was famished, though. Having slept through dinner.

"Morning." Scorpius said before biting a piece of toast.

"Scorpius, I am really, really, _really_ sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Hey, we missed a day of classes, didn't we?" he gave a satisfied smirk.

" We did? Oh, that's right! It's Friday. I gotta go get all my weekend homework!" I started panicking.

"I'm sure Albus can bring them for you. Relax, you can't strain your leg yet."

"I guess you're right." I sighed.

He looked at me with those dazzling gray eyes.

"So, about my question..."

"What question?"

"The Three Broomsticks and Honeydukes...and apparently Fowler's Footwear too." he glanced over at his burnt up shoe.

"I would love to. It's the least I could do."

"Trust me, once the pain was over, it isn't so bad. We're in bed on a school day."

We ate our breakfast continuing our conversation. Madam Patil let us out right after classes were over, which basically means that Scorpius pretended to be asleep every time she would see how we were to make sure we didn't have to go to any classes.

"Rose!" Albus greeted me as soon as I entered through the portrait.

"Al, hey. Did you just happen to pick up my homework I-" he cut me off.

"Rose, I'm sorry I didn't get to visit you. I did visit you actually. Right after classes yesterday, but you were asleep. It was me, Lily and Hugo. We were waiting for you to wake up but Madam Patil shooed us away..." he continued on like that for a while.

"Al. Albus! Relax. I'm okay. I was there for a day. It's fine. Now, do you have my homework?"

"Yeah, I do. I gave them to Lily to bring to your room."

"Great, thanks Al."

I hurried into the girls dormitory and there on my bed was a pile of notes on homework in Albus' neat handwriting. I got started on them immediately, knowing that most of my Saturday would be spent in Hogsmeade.

**A/N: I've just finished writing the Chapter plan for this story (which is what I do when I feel writer's block coming along) and I can confirm that there will be just 12 chapters including the Prologue. 13 if I decide to write an Epilogue but I don't think I'll be doing that. So, since I now know what I'll be writing there will be no late chapters. I promise. The review button is right there. I'm not withholding chapters for reviews but they really are encouraging. Thank you once again for taking the time to read this. :)**


	4. Chapter 3: Butterflies and Handholding

**Chapter 3**

I woke up to a rainy October morning. I was willing myself to get up and out of bed much longer than usual as the weather provided such a relaxing atmosphere. But then I noticed my hands had ink smudges all over them and I had bits of parchment all over my hair. I was pretty much a mess. So I hurried into the Prefect's Bathroom to enjoy a nice long shower. There was once again butterflies in my stomach as I looked in the mirror. I looked so casual. Should I dress up? Would that seem too much? But I didn't think what I was wearing would work. It took me several tries to choose what to wear and how I wanted to look (I eventually just used Sleekeazy's Hair Potion instead). I met Scorpius in the Great Hall. The rain had subsided to a light drizzle. He was there smiling at me carrying an umbrella.

"You're early?"

"Well, you're always early."

"How long have you been waiting?"

"Maybe about half an hour."

"You haven't."

"Yeah. I wouldn't want to keep you waiting."

"Well, you should've told me. I could've come much earlier if I had known."

"I'm okay with waiting, you know."

"Well, you shouldn't be. You should have told me. I don't like being late."

"Let's just go Rose." Scorpius said.

We stopped by Fowler's Footwear first where I insisted on paying for his shoes.

"No, you are not paying for these." he said incredulously.

"It's the least I can do. I destroyed your shoes after all."

"These will be perfect, thank you. And no you aren't paying for these, Rose."

"That'll be 5 Galleons." the shopkeeper said, looking from me to Scorpius, unsure as to who he should be addressing.

"Here you go sir." I immediately handed the shopkeeper 5 Galleons before Scorpius could even find his bag.

"Rose." he protested.

"It's your own fault for bringing a purse." I teased.

"It's not a purse. I just don't like the coins making my pocket heavy."

"You have no idea how ridiculous that sounds, don't you?" I laughed and walked away leaving him hopping on one foot struggling to put his shoes on.

I stopped walking by the door, opening it for him, smirking.

"Ladies first." I said.

"Come on." he started walking briskly out the door.

He pulled me by my wrist, running towards Honeydukes. Once inside, we separated to get sweets. After a few minutes I met up with him back at the counter. He was holding a single box of chocolate frogs.

"That's all you're getting?" he asked as I dumped the sweets I was struggling to carry onto the counter.

"Yeah, why? Too much?" I asked, feeling self-conscious.

"No, I just didn't know you had that much of a sweet tooth."

"I like my sweets."

"That'll be 4 Galleons and 11 Sickles."

I shifted around my pocket counting Galleons and Sickles but before I could get my money out Scorpius had already paid for them.

"Scorpius, they're mine. I'm paying for them." I tried handing him the money.

"Well, you paid for the shoes." he pushed my hands away.

"It is a well known fact that the one who brings a purse shouldn't pay for the one who doesn't bring a purse." I teased.

"It keeps things organized!"

"Just admit the fact that you carry a purse and accept these."

"No." he said and walked away carrying my bag of sweets and his Chocolate Frogs.

"Scorpius!" I called out before he went out the door.

"Rose! I thought you weren't going to Hogsmeade today?" it was Albus.

"Yeah, I wanted to buy some sweets."

"Where are they?" he asked.

"With Scorpius." I gulped.

"Wow, I knew you two were homework buddies close, but I didn't know you were going to Hogsmeade close." he said it so casually and didn't know if it was me or my imagination but I could swear he was giving me a look that said he knew something was up.

"Yeah, he's a great friend. Surprisingly a really fun guy." I said, a lump in my throat.

"Sure. Whatever Rose." Albus chuckle and rolled his eyes before walking away.

I stepped out and he just jumps out of nowhere, attempting to surprise me.

"Nice try." I laughed and walked on.

"You weren't surprised at all?"

"I knew you wouldn't actually go past the door and leave me."

The tone of our conversation changed. We were past all the serious talks. It was nice seeing a genuine smile on his face for once instead of a reassuring one. It turns out Scorpius wasn't an open book at all. He just avoided talking about himself for some unknown reason.

"Are you going to the Quidditch match on Monday?" he asked after a sip of butterbeer.

"Well, it's not like I have a choice, really. Albus and Hugo will kill me if I don't go."

"Ah, Albus and Hugo. I assume you'll be cheering for Gryffindor then?"

"Well, I should seeing as I _am _in Gryffindor. Oh...erm, right, you'll be playing too." I paused.

"Relax, I don't expect you to cheer for Slytherin."

"Good because I won't."

"Why aren't you in the team? You're brother's a really good flier."

"No, no brooms. I don't like brooms." I shook my head.

"Why not?" He cocked an eyebrow.

"My dad took me flying once and I slipped and was dangling in midair with one hand holding onto the broom. I fell and broke my leg. I never flew again. No thank you."

Flashes of falling off the broom knowing pain was about to come, the loud crack of bone breaking, the blood. Everything came to my mind. It was like sensory overload.

"I've broken my bone at least 8 times!"

"I was 6, Scorpius. It was the most terrifying moment of my life."

" Rose, you gotta try. Let me teach you."

"No, Scorpius. I am not going anywhere near a broom again."

"We're not going to go higher than 30 feet, I promise."

"No."

"20 feet?"

"10 feet?"

"No!"

That was pretty much how the rest of the night went. He was very persistent. It took at least 20 No's to get him to stop. On the way back to the Thestrals that would take us back to Hogwarts he did something that I most definitely didn't expect. He held my hand.

My heart fluttered. Everything was all new to me. Every emotion, every strange sensation. The butterflies in my stomach, the lump in my throat, the tingle in my hand when he held it, the strange desire to stay that way forever...all of them were unfamiliar. I speculated on what they were for a while. Should I chalk it up to hormones? Was this the magic that my mum talked about? Because I could certainly understand how this was magic. Was this right? At that last question I threw my curiosity to the wind, for once, and decided to enjoy the moment.

**A/N: Almost forgot to post this. I'm feeling a tad sick. I don't really think this was my best work so far but this chapter was essential to the plot in a way. Thanks for reading. xx**


	5. Chapter 4: Brooms and Kisses

**A/N: Been procrastinating on this Chapter because I find it really hard to come up with names. I named every single Quidditch player and barely got to use the names.**

**Chapter 4 **

"Good luck!" I said to Scorpius as he walked out of the Great Hall the morning of the Quidditch match.

He smiled at me, a nervous, halfhearted smile. It was the first Gryffindor versus Slytherin match of the year and tensions were high. The other Houses were picking sides. And...let's just say no one ever said that Hufflepuffs weren't competitive.

The match was intense. Scorpius was doing well and so was Hugo. Then the Slytherin Captain Zach Andrews whispered something to the Beaters and they started aiming both Bludgers towards Hugo to leave the goal posts unguarded. One Bludger almost hit him and both Gryffindor Beaters went after it leaving Hugo vulnerable once again. I could hear Scorpius shouting at them to stop, but he couldn't make them stop since it wasn't technically against Quidditch Regulations. He started flying towards Andrews, arguing, the other Bludger went straight towards Hugo and hit Scorpius midflight. Madam Spinnet called for a time out and I could hear shouting and people from the stands saying "He's out cold!" I borrowed a pair of binoculars from a nearby first year and saw that he was indeed unconscious. It looked like he had a concussion based on the size and the hue of the dark purple lump. It contrasted greatly with his pale face. My initial reaction was shock. I stood there frozen. Unable to tear my eyes away from him. I could hear the whispers of the crowd, the persistent shouting of the Captain for Scorpius to "Get your lazy arse up, we have a match to win!". I finally looked away when they took him to the Hospital Wing. I gave the binoculars back and exited the stands.

I took the fastest route toward the Hospital Wing. The curtains were drawn around Scorpius' bed.

"Is he going to be okay?" I asked Madam Clearwater.

"It's just a concussion. I've had worse cases. It just seems bad because he's unconscious. Come back tomorrow. He won't be up till then." she said all of this fast, gave me a stern smile and closed the door. I stood there, dumbfounded unsure as to what had just happened. I distracted myself with homework and studying for the rest of the night.

I woke up at 4AM and went straight to the Hospital Wing after getting dressed. I was pacing back and forth for about half an hour until Madam Clearwater finally let me in. Scorpius was still asleep and all I could do was sit there. I started growing restless. Why couldn't he just wake up? I was pacing back and forth again for ages. Twice Madam Clearwater made me stop, telling me that she would kick me out. I would sit back down again but I couldn't sit still. It was hours till Scorpius finally woke up. It was an enormous relief and I did all I could to calm myself and at least show a tiny amount of composure.

"How are you? Are you alright? Does your head still hurt? Do you want anything to eat? I'm asking too many questions aren't I? I'm sorry." I sat down finally being able to relax.

"Rose, I'm fine. It's just a little bump on the head. It happens all the time in Quidditch."

"I know but, I can't help feeling a bit responsible."

"Why would you think that?"

"Well...you were defending Hugo. And you flew in front of him. Hugo could have been hit but you saved him. You would have won if you hadn't."

"What they were doing wasn't right. That wouldn't be fair if I let them do that."

"Aren't you upset that you didn't win the game?"

His acceptance towards his own defeat baffled me.

"I don't like losing. No one does. Especially not a Slytherin, but I think I wouldn't have liked winning under the circumstances."

Despite my disbelief I couldn't help but think that, that was the sweetest thing I've heard anyone say. I've never done it before but at the time it seemed right. I kissed him. My heartbeat grew faster the closer we got. My stomach twisting into knots when our lips touched and the tingle of electricity that lingered even after the kiss. His lips were soft and warm. It wasn't really full on snogging but, it was something.

"Maybe I should get hit by Bludgers more often." he smirked.

"Scorpius!" I laughed. It was just like him to joke at a moment like this.

"I'm sorry. It was a joke."

"And to think that I was actually going to let you teach me how to fly."

"You were?"

"Yeah, but I don't know now."

"Please let me do it." he tried getting up.

"What are you doing? Lie down!" I pushed him gently down.

"Ow!" he winced, still trying to get up.

"Fine, I'll do it! Just get back down!"

"Do what?"

"I'll let you teach me how to fly! Just don't strain yourself."

He set his head back on his pillow, chuckling.

I couldn't believe what he had just done.

"I was actually starting to wonder how you became a Slytherin."

Madam Clearwater let him out before lunch saying we were disturbing the other patients.

We parted to eat lunch at our respective tables and Scorpius told me to meet him in the Quidditch Pitch after his practice.

I was walking into the Quidditch Pitch, an old Nimbus I've only ever used once in my hand. I ran into the rest of the Slytherin team leaving.

"Oi! Scorpius! Your Gryffindor priss is here!" Zach said.

"Watch your tounge Zach!" Scorpius shouted down at him.

"I'm really sorry about him. He copes with losing by shouting." Timothy Nott said.

"Shut it Nott! No fraternizing with the enemy!" Zach shouted once again.

"See what I mean?" Timothy said before walking away.

"Hey!" I shouted to Scorpius who was still whizzing about in the air.

"Hey!" he landed smoothly "Sorry about the team." he gestured to where they left.

"It's okay. It was really only Zach."

"Really? Okay then, let's get to it. Can you get on the broom?"

"Of course I can...oh, wait really? Now?"

"Yes, now."

"Okay." I mounted the broom still standing on solid ground.

"Can you fly?"

I leaned back slightly rising at about 2 feet and I stopped.

"Rose." he pointed upward, indicating that I go higher.

I flew up to about 10 feet and that was when my hands started shaking, my palms got sweaty and my vision got blurry. I was gripping the broom so tightly that it shook with my hand.

"Scorpius, I can't!"

"Come on Rose. We'll do it together." he flew towards where I was.

"I can't!"

"You can do it, Rose."

"Can't we go back in better weather or when the wind has no chance of sweeping me off of my broom?" goosebumps crawled onto my skin as I thought about the possibilities.

"Come on, Rose. You don't have to be such a control freak about everything."

My head snapped up. I knew that he was joking but I couldn't help my reaction.

"I'm not a control freak Scorpius. Take it back."

"Well, you are sometimes you know. I think it's adorable."

"I don't take it back!"

"But I like that you're a control freak. I-" I cut him off.

"I'm going." I tried aiming my broom downwards so I could land but speeding toward the ground didn't seem safe. I know it's irrational but at the time it seemed like the only choice. I jumped off of the broom and let it fall. I didn't hear the thud. Maybe Scorpius caught it, maybe he didn't. I couldn't turn back. My eyes were too filled with tears and I couldn't let anyone see me like this. So I ran away as fast as I could, a tear streaking down my cheek.

**A/N: I have been wanting to thank JuneOnTheMoon for that nice review but I keep forgetting. Thank you so much. Ir means a lot. And to the Anon who reviewed: Yes, it's supposed to be funny I was hoping someone would get that since I'm not really very good at writing humor and thank you so much. :)**


	6. Chapter 5: Insecurities and Fears

**Chapter 5**

Weeks passed and I ignored Scorpius completely. Considering the amount of time we've spent with each other this was a tough thing to do. Being alone was something that I had gotten myself used to, and you'd think that I would just fall back into stride with that but I didn't. The first few days, Scorpius tried to pretend that it never happened. He would talk to me and I wouldn't acknowledge his existence. This was a very hard thing to do since I could write of book of things I've wanted to say to him. I know it seems like I'm overreacting to it but I hate being called a control freak. It was something that people often called me when I was younger and I wasn't a Prefect yet. It's part of the reason why I'm mostly socially excluded. Although it has been an advantage when you look at it from the point of view of being a Prefect but it was still a bit of a low blow, even when I knew he was joking. It's hard to admit that there were times when I had to excuse myself during Potions to gain a semblance of composure because he was right there, working on whatever Potion it was we were working on that day, pretending I didn't exist. It was as if we were back to square one, only worse because we didn't talk at all. In fact his presence was cold, I would've preferred menacing because then at least that would've been _something_.

It was October and we still hadn't talked. I was in the library one day after finally letting myself cry for a bit which actually did help make me feel better. My nose was still a bit stuffy and I really just wanted to go to bed but I had this essay on Centaur rights for Binns. I sniffed.

"Rose?" I heard Scorpius say.

I put the book down and looked at him, not saying anything.

"H-have you been crying?" He looked horrified.

I didn't talk, my look said it all. With my puffy eyes, and patchy face. It was humiliating.

"Please don't cry. Let's talk this out." he gave me a pleading look.

"Okay." I couldn't look at him directly.

"Come on, let's go somewhere more private. Madam Pince is glaring daggers at us."

"No, I have to finish this it's due tomorrow. Meet me near the Black Lake after dinner."

I had to give myself that much time to recover.

I didn't know what was going on. I was content with being alone, for such a long time, why am I so affected by this? I was too distracted so I ended up just rewording a couple of sentences from the book just to get the essay over with.

The Black Lake was calm, Scorpius was there tossing bread to the Giant Squid, leaning against a tree.

He hugged me as soon as he saw me. I wanted to object about not wanting his pity but, I decided to let myself have this one. He was incredibly warm and sweet about it.

"I'm sorry, okay? I thought you never wanted to talk to me again. I really am. I didn't know that you were so sensitive about being called that and I promise I won't do it again, not even if it was a joke."

"I missed you." I whispered, my face buried in the crook of his neck.

"I missed you too."

We stood there for a long time, in each others arms.

I eventually told him about how I came to loathe being called a control freak and he told me about how he was sick of people's misconceptions about him being a Malfoy, he wasn't his father or his grandfather. He just wanted to be his own person, but he was afraid people would judge just because his last name was Malfoy. As he was telling me this it all clicked. He wasn't an open book at all. It was like he was hiding under these blatantly obvious problems. It was the first time I've heard him talk about issues with himself instead of his family. It was that day that I felt like I truly knew him.

* * *

More weeks passed, we were both perfectly happy. But then came the holidays, both of us had to leave.

"I'll write to you everyday." I said to Scorpius.

"I'll miss you." he said.

"I'll miss you too."

We kissed a simple goodbye kiss before leaving.

"Rose! Come on, we need to go!" Albus said, startling us. We thought he had left.

I blushed, scarlet.

"I have to go." I said when Albus left.

"Write, okay?"

"I promise."

"I love you." he said before I closed the door to McGonagall's office.

Did he just say he loved me? A mixture of elation and anxiety pooled in the pit of my stomach.

I travel by Floo Powder back to our house, maintaining a fixed smile as I tried to work out what I wanted to do next.

**A/N: Thank you for the Reviews. They really are rather nice and keep me going. It's terribly short so, I'm really sorry about that.**


	7. Chapter 6: An Epiphany at Christmas

**Chapter 6**

The spinning stopped and the flames ebbed away. I was met with hugs from my mum and dad. Albus wasn't there which calmed me slightly. He could keep a secret, but that didn't mean that he didn't want an explanation. Frankly, I'm actually quite surprised it's taken till now for him to be suspicious. We were going to have to see each other at some point. Our first family dinner during vacation consisted mostly of Hugo's retelling of his Quidditch conquests. Something that I usually didn't listen to. But Hugo mentioned something that caught my attention.

"But the weird thing that happened was Andrews told his Beaters, Howell and Parkinson, to aim both Bludgers at me repeatedly and Malfoy started arguing with him mid-game and he got hit by the Bludger." Hugo said.

"A Malfoy defending a Gryffindor? Bit strange." Dad said.

"Ronald! I'm sure Scorpius is an improvement to hi father, isn't he Hugo?"

"Yeah, but I don't really know him that well. Rose and him are getting on a bit, aren't you Rose?"

"Erm, yeah, we're both Prefects." I said, disregarding a part of the question.

I avoided everyone's eyes. I kept to myself mostly for the rest of the week save one day.

Christmas was an occasion that we've always spent at The Burrow. It was a bit crammed indoors despite the renovations done so we usually spent it outside. Mum, Auntie Ginny, Auntie Audrey and Auntie Angelina were helping Gran cook. Dad, Uncle Harry, Uncle Percy, Uncle George, Uncle Charlie, Granddad and Hagrid were out gathered around the fireplace drinking Firewhiskey and waiting for Bill to drop by since he was going to spend Christmas with Fleur in France this year. The rest of us were watching the boys play Quidditch. I had been keeping beside Lily the entire day, avoiding Albus at all costs. But I had to run into him sometime. And that time was during dinner. We were sent to gather the presents from inside the house.

He was keeping silent, not asking anything which was strange. I couldn't stand the silence since we usually talked quite often.

"Please don't tell dad." That was not what I had intended to say at all.

"Tell him what?" he seemed genuinely confused.

"Me and Scorpius."

"What's there to tell? It seems really obvious."

"To you maybe. They're not in Hogwarts."

"If it means that much to you I won't tell them. But why don't you want me to tell them?"

"He's a _Malfoy_, Al. I don't think Dad would take to it kindly."

"I think he'll get over it Rose. Why do you really not want them to know?"

I was silent for a bit, mulling the question over.

"You're doing another experiment aren't you?" he hissed.

"Is it that obvious?" I asked, afraid Scorpius might have figured it out.

"No, I just know you well enough. But why are you doing this?"

"Because love is powerful and I want to see it up close."

"Don't you think it's a bit harsh considering you don't even have any feelings for him and you're using him for this experiment?"

There, it was. It had been said out loud. Something I had been consistently ignoring since that day in Hogsmeade. The guilt all came pouring out. No matter how much I tried to deny it, no matter how much I tried not to think about it, I knew it was wrong. Curiosity had simply gotten the best of me.

"I'm so _stupid_." I murmured as I carried the presents out. The evening passed in a blink. Mostly because when you think the same thing repeatedly it all starts blurring together.

_What do I do now?_

**A/N: I'm back! I'll be posting chapters sporadically till Friday when I'm finally caught up. I'm really sorry about leaving this for such a long time. I was depressed for a bit and there were problems involving wanting to die and...yeah, but priorities right? Thank you for reading.**


	8. Chapter 7: A Confession and Guilt

**Chapter 7**

The sudden realization was an awakening. Fear crept into my system. I was left with only one thing to look forward to, the distraction of studying for Final Exams. Then again, distractions are never a good thing. But at that moment, it was the best thing I had. So I took it gladly. Besides, it's not like I could neglect my studies. That Christmas break was followed by what I would like to call a hibernation, at least socially.

I never could handle stress well, especially under the current predicament. I never talked to him once during those few weeks. Save for the awkward glances and the occasional exchange of opinions during Prefect meetings, I never made contact with him. It had really gotten to me. The stress was building up and I couldn't hold it in any longer. He still went on badgering me despite my stony silence. I couldn't handle the expression of defeat in his face whenever I ignored him which is why I usually studied in the Common Room. It was a week before the Final Exams and a day after the OWLs which was incredibly inconvenient. Because now, not only was there a lingering distraction that was the guilt I felt because of what I did to Scorpius kept drawing attention to itself, but there was the external distraction of a celebratory post-OWL party as well. Being a Prefect, I could obviously disrupt the party as there was butterbeer going 'round from some boys sneaking out to Hogsmeade, but they deserved time off. I saw how hard they studied myself. And as it was Gryffindor was also just a few points ahead of Ravenclaw and I didn't want to be responsible for our loss.

So with those thoughts in mind I went to the library. It was a little crowded but since I've spent quite a lot of time there I knew places where no one went to (i.e. near the History of Magic books in original Runes) and I chose to go there. The first few minutes went well until Scorpius came strolling along. I tried hiding behind my book, but inevitably failed as it was too heavy for me to be able to carry in front of my face. It fell with a rather loud, attention grabbing thud. So as expected Scorpius, always the gentleman, picked it up before I could even reach for it because I was still frozen in fear of confrontation. I have tried to put this off for ages, but here he was, there's no turning back now is there. I tried to think of things that I could say but ended up trying to stop myself from saying the things I couldn't. I wanted to be calm and reasonable, but what I felt was panic and an urge to run away. I couldn't of course. I was frozen. My legs barely managing to keep me upright.

"Here you go." he didn't glance at me, he chose to look at my book and make my heart skip a beat once the surprise flickered in his eyes when he realized that it was me. He was taken aback, neither of us knew what to say. "C-can we talk?" he managed to say.

"I honestly don't know." I said but followed him out of the library anyway, leaving my books on the table. The walk was quiet, yet the silence was loaded. It was obvious that he wasn't angry, but I was sure that he was at least irritated. We stopped at an empty hallway and the silence was deafening. I guess none of us knew what to say. I realized that I was holding my breath so I tried, very hard, to control my breathing. I very much wanted to say everything and I was trying very hard to not do so but it just all came pouring out.

"I'm sorry! I was experimenting on love and I was using you. I am so sorry." my voice kept breaking and I could feel the tears streaming down my face. "It's my fault. Everything is my fault, I'm sorry." I was looking at the ground because I would probably have sobbed more had I been looking at him and no one had ever really seen me cry before. I calmed myself as much as I could and looked at him. He was just stood there, still not knowing what to say. I could see the anger in his face and I could feel that I was going to start sobbing soon so I just ran away.

Finals went and passed and we never spoke to each other. And I tried to forget about him, keep my mind Scorpius free. But the last look he gave me at Kings Cross right before summer, the only look after ages, was so sad that I knew that I wouldn't forget him despite his absence. I was such a horrible person.

**A/N: We have guests over and they have no intention of leaving anytime soon. I would love to update more frequently but I will have to settle with writing at 3 in the morning. I'm working on finding time to write though so I'm really sorry.**


	9. Chapter 8: A Distraction and A Breakdown

**Chapter 8**

During summer I did what I could do best: use studying as a distraction. I know it had already brought me to so much trouble but at the time it seemed like the only option. I kept to myself mostly, avoiding human interaction as much as I could. When Albus and James came over to take Hugo to the Quidditch World Cup he passed by my room. I was moping at the time. I didn't want to cry, I don't like crying. He passed by my room and let James go ahead of him.

"You aren't speaking again." he said.

It was more of a statement rather than a question. I nodded my head the tiniest bit in confirmation.

"I'm sorry, _I_ thought you actually liked him." he said before walking away.

I was left staring at where he was completely bewildered. What did that mean? Did it mean he thought that I had liked Scorpius? Or did it mean that he just thought that I seemed like I really did like him even though I didn't? Did I like him? Well, I feel horrible about what I did to him. But it could be just guilt. That was the worst possible thing to say while I was that emotional. The inner turmoil was terrifying. I always thought at the time that no matter what the aftermath was of telling him the truth feeling guilty for not doing so was worse. But what I was dreading before telling him was that he would definitely get angry or act cold towards me, which did happen but it isn't as bad as my hatred toward myself for doing this in the first place.

As I went to my mum's study to borrow books a few hours later I ran into her. I tried my best to hide my face behind my hair, as I was sure that what I felt could be seen clearly in my expression. She saw right through me.

"You aren't the only one who takes refuge in books, you know." she said.

I looked up at her, unsure how to react.

"What has been happening with you, Rose?" she said, shocked by how gloomy I looked.

I wanted to tell her everything, I really did. But it wasn't the easiest thing to explain.

"It's Scorpius." my voice didn't let on the emotion I felt, it just seemed dead.

"What happened? Did he break up with you?"

I was a bit taken aback that she knew about that but I went on to say what I had been thinking for a while. "I am such a horrible person."

"Rose I'm right here. Come on, you can tell me."

So I did. I told her everything. The experiment, how I felt around Scorpius, our first date, my first kiss, the time he taught me how to fly. Everything. I was on the brink of tears, just barely not crying.

"Rose, you can get him back, trust me." she said.

"You don't get it mum. I _used _him."

"But you love him. I'm not going to say that is all that matters because I definitely think that you should feel bad for doing what you did. But if you love someone and they love you back but they're doubting your feelings, all you have to do is prove it."

"How did you and dad get together?"

"The Horcrux."

"Hufflepuff's Cup?"

"Precisely. When I destroyed it my deepest fear came out. Your father with...his 6th year girlfriend."

"Not failing?"

"Failing isn't the worst thing, you know. Crying isn't either. I cried a lot in my 6th year."

She gave me a quick hug, gathered up the books I didn't notice that I dropped and handed them to me.

These new revelations were confusing. I never considered crying, it wasn't even an option, to me it was like accepting defeat. I only ever cried in front of Scorpius because that comment was something that truly affected me in the worst way.

When I went back into my room, an owl was perched on my windowsill, a letter with the Hogwarts seal tied to it. It was a little early for Hogwarts letters and even then the owl would fly to the kitchen or the living room, not in my bedroom. I quickly opened the letter...

"_Congratulations, you have been selected to be Head Girl..."_

I smiled for the first time in weeks. I had almost forgotten about that. That was the best news I had heard in a while. I read on but there was a part I reached that completely caught me of guard.

"_...you will be leading alongside Mr. Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy..."_

That was the day I decided to let myself cry.


	10. Chapter 9: Head Boy and Head Girl

**Chapter 9**

Crying definitely helped, I could smile again. I still dreaded the future but letting emotions out and letting your guard down every once in a while isn't a bad thing. That didn't keep me from dreading the future but it decreased my frustrations by a lot. There was another thing to ponder before anything else, did I or did I not love Scorpius. I looked back to our days in Hogsmeade, patrolling around the castle, the way my hand felt when he held it, the rapid beating of my heart on our first kiss, I came to the conclusion that I just might. I most definitely had feelings for him, but I couldn't say I love him. I still had no idea what love is and what I felt was different from what I imagined.

School had started once again and obviously I was obligated to instruct Prefects on what to do. I was half an hour early to Kings Cross and there were hardly any people on the Hogwarts Express but if I was going to be Head Girl I was going to do it right. Scorpius arrived just a couple of minutes after I did. It was very awkward but I looked past that and focused on the task at hand.

"Congratulations." he said.

"Congratulations to you too. About the patrolling schedules..." I started blabbing on about 5th years being assigned in the hour with least responsibility and he didn't seem to be listening.

I stopped and sighed "We're going to have to talk about it, aren't we?"

"Yes, Rose, we have to. This isn't just a misunderstanding, you've got to understand that."

"Please Scorpius call me every bad name you know, I know what I did was wrong. I'll stay away from you as much as I can under the current circumstances but _please_ don't try to tell me that I don't know that what I did was horrible because right now, I think that's the only thing I know for sure." I said.

"I just...after the trolley goes by it's best to send the fifth years. Everyone will be eating."

He had given up on me. It felt like that was the last conversation between Rose and Scorpius and any future conversations would be between Head Boy and Head Girl. But what if I didn't want that? Could I do anything to change that? Should I? I was lost in thought for the ride to Hogwarts, I told Scorpius my plan for patrolling. He was perfectly capable of taking command. I'm sure he understood my current predicament. That night I was in the Common Room, still thinking it over, staring out the window at the deserted Quidditch field.

"_...if you love someone and they love you back but they're doubting your feelings, all you have to do is prove it."_


	11. Chapter 10: The Grand Gesture

**Chapter 10**

I completely gave up on giving up on Scorpius. I figured it was better to take a chance instead of spending the rest of my life wondering what could have happened. What did I have to lose? The first task at hand was to figure out how I could prove to Scorpius that my feelings were genuine. I doubt that I could do something like destroying a horcrux but I'm sure I could think of something I could do. The mere thought of taking risks was terrifying but I was sure that I would never regret doing it whatever the outcome may be.

_What risks do I have to take?_

An idea came to me. I spent many sleepless nights in the library researching about it, but once a whole week had passed I knew I couldn't put it off any longer or else I might not have gone through with it.

My steps were slow, I couldn't very well run. My legs felt like they were made of jelly. I knew the mechanics, I knew how to do this, I've done this before I can do it now. I _have_ to do it now. Did I really have to do this now? In front of all these people? I never did find out if I could have made another excuse for myself to do it with less people watching because I just mounted the broom and zoomed toward the goalposts right in the middle of practice. Which was probably intrusive and Scorpius could kick me out anytime as I wasn't even a Slytherin but I had a feeling he wouldn't. Zooming toward the goal posts like that was the result of a sudden rush of adrenaline. So, naturally, when I realized that I was on a broom at least 50 feet in the air I froze. I looked down and saw the ground, my potential death, and my hands started shaking and getting clammy, which wasn't the most convenient thing.

"Scorpius can we please talk?"

I drew attention to myself, in this vulnerable state it wasn't something I particularly looked forward to. They all stared at me, casually flying away from Scorpius, toward each other. Like they weren't high enough to die if they fell.

"The past few days and this summer has been hard. Honestly, Scorpius, you don't know how you make me feel. I wish I hadn't hurt you, I really do but if I could do it over again I wouldn't have not done it. Because otherwise, I wouldn't have met the real you. Do you have any idea how scared I was when I realized that I liked you? Do you have any idea how scared I am right now?"

I realized that I was crying. I was crying in front of all these people, pouring my heart out in midair.

"I'm tired of pretending. I'm not perfect. I can't be perfect. In fact I am a horrible person. You know that right? I just wanted to say that I never lied about anything other than that stupid experiment and...and I want you back." I ended wiping a tear away.

That was when my hands slipped off of the broom handle, making me lean forward and plummet to the ground.

**A/N: I know I've said this before but I'm currently writing Chapter 11 (The last chapter) and I'll be posting it sometime tomorrow. Sorry if they're short. I didn't want it to get too angst-y.**


	12. Chapter 11: No Regrets

**Chapter 11**

I woke up in the Hospital Wing. The sunlight, waking me up. There was a book (Flying for First Years), Sugar Quills and a piece of parchment on the bedside table. Surely the Sugar Quills were a good sign. I reassured myself as I retrieved the parchment.

"_Just in case I'm not there when you wake up._

_-Scorpius"_

What did he mean by that? Was he waiting here for me to wake up? That did sound very much like him.

"Oh, good, you're awake." Madam Clearwater gave me a plate of waffles.

I went about picking at them, barely eating until lunch time when Scorpius walked in.

"Hi, you're awake." he said cautiously. Probably afraid that I might have another breakdown.

"Hello Scorpius." I said.

Scorpius let out a sigh of relief.

"Did you enjoy the book I left for you?" he smirked.

He's joking. That's a good thing. There's no need to be nervous. I tried, and failed, to lose the anxiety.

"I could have if I hadn't read it already."

"You have? Well, why did you fall?"

"For one, I was very nervous, obviously and second, I am not afraid of the thought of flying. I am afraid of the thought of _me_ flying. You've seen how disastrous it is to have me in the air on a broomstick."

"Yeah the first time we fought and the second, well..."

My mind was stuck on one response that I wanted to make.

_You can't say that the results weren't good the second time, at least not yet._

It was the only joke I could think of. I stopped myself before I said it, this was a risk I'd rather not take. Besides we're going to have to talk about it at some point either way.

"I'm sorry." I said, much calmer this time.

"Me too." he said.

"Oh."

It was a bit of a letdown but we could still be friends, right? I tried to calm down. I was not going to let Scorpius see me cry two days in a row.

"No, I mean I'm sorry I let you leave." he paused, when I didn't say anything he went on.

"I shouldn't have let you go like that. You were hurt and you probably thought I hated you, for a short while I did but I could have at least said something to confirm it."

Was he taking the blame? Trust Scorpius to find a way to blame himself when anything goes wrong.

"No, it's my fault. I used you. Don't take the blame for me."

"I know what you did was wrong. But you didn't know any better. You were always sheltered from seeing those kinds of things and you saw the world differently from everyone else. I knew better. I could have told you, you were doing something wrong or that I completely forgive you but I had to let you suffer for the summer because I didn't know how to say it. I was a coward."

A lot of questions popped into my mind. Did he see me as a freak? A child? Why did he completely forgive me? What I did was horrible. What did he mean when he said that I saw the world different from everyone else? But I chose a different question.

"What made you decide to finally talk to me?"

"You on a broomstick was definitely a big factor on that decision but it was also my dad. During the summer he asked me why I was upset and it all came pouring out. But he didn't tell me what to do. He just told me about working for You-Know-Who and then said 'Don't let yourself live your life in regret the way I did, son.' I wanted to speak to you at the Hogwarts Express but you seemed very on edge. Really different. I guess the summer changed both of us."

"Good change or bad change?"

"I can't tell yet. There's plenty of time for us to be together while I try and figure it out." he said.

My eyes lit up. He hugged me, I kissed him.

"I love you." he said.

"I love you too." I said.

"Not this again." Albus interrupted, smirking "Your homework."

"Thanks, Al."

We laughed when he walked away.

As experiments go I mark this one as a success. Yes, love is magic. In the dictionary magic is defined as something that possesses distinctive qualities that produce unaccountable or baffling effects. I most definitely agree that the effects were baffling, nothing I'd ever expected or understand as of the moment. But it would just have to be one of those mysteries. I certainly wouldn't be doing another experiment soon.

**A/N: And it's done! If you didn't know I posted three chapters yesterday because the last chapter has more views than the first of the three. Thank you for reading this. I'm working on another hp fic it just won't be up yet for a while. I want to at least be up to 2 chapters to the ending before I start posting to avoid any more delays. Side note has anyone else noticed that all of Scorpius and Rose's best moments happen in the Hospital Wing? Just noticed. Bye. xx**


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